Fan Fiction Recommendation: Cheater Cheater Heartbreaker!, a Powerpuff Girls written by kuku88

Hey, everybody! Antoni, here, with another fan fiction recommendation. As promised, it's another Powerpuff Girls fanfic involving Brick, Butch, Blossom, and Buttercup called Cheater Cheater Heartbreaker! written by kuku88 and published back on August 28, 2013. It's rated T. It's in English. It's romance/drama, and the main couples are Butch/Buttercup and Brick/Blossom. There are hints Brick/Buttercup and Butch/Blossom, but it's mostly platonic. Other characters involved are Boomer, Bubbles, Brute from the Powerpunk Girls, Bunny from the episode Twisted Sister who is thankfully revived in the fanfic, and Dexter and Mandark from Dexter's Laboratory. There are also some original characters to be found in the forms of the other Rowdyruffs, Bandit, Blaster, Braker, and the other Powerpuffs, Banana, and Bliss, the latter one not being the one from the PPG 2016 reboot. Even more so the characters in this story are teenagers, roughly 16 to 18 years old so there will be some curse words like the F- and S-words, the former being slightly more dominant.

Now, we are venturing into the less fluffy direction from Aqua Bailarina 15's Sugar Song to A Bitter, Yet Sweet Step and head to something a bit more melodramatic. Before I begin talking about the fanfic's melodrama aspect, I would like to mention that I'm sure in the previous fanfic it would have been also cool to see Brick, Butch, Blossom, and Buttercup form their own J-Rock, Alternative, or Rock band that would give the likes of ABBA and even the A-Teens a run for their money. With that little detail out of the way, let's get on to what I thought about this fanfic.

And for those who asked, this is what I meant by this story being melodramatic, almost akin to a teen soap opera, but not as far-fetched nor over-the-top. The story starts off as Buttercup scolds Butch, whom she has dated for three months and counting, and wants to call off their relationship, as he made out with her evil counterpart, Brute from the Powerpunk Girls, during her, her sisters', and Brute's birthday party. In Butch's defense, he states that he was horribly drunk, as he though Brute was Buttercup and he was in under so much pressure with Buttercup's expectations for him to be the best boyfriend. Buttercup not wanting to hear Butch's excuses storms off to her home, where Blossom, Bubbles, Bunny, Bliss, and Banana try to comfort her. Because of the breakup's impact, Buttercup then ends up crying in her bedroom, until Blossom's boyfriend, Brick, arrives. As Blossom's boyfriend and Buttercup's closest friend, he also comforts her and even stated that he tried to stop Butch's excessive drinking, but he was unfortunately stubborn. Buttercup grows feelings for Brick, as he is deemed Blossom's perfect boyfriend. Thus, she uses him to break his relationship with Blossom and get back at Butch. However, Brick is befuddled by how she is reacting, and he proceeds to go to Blossom, as they have a study session. He reassures Buttercup that he, her sisters, and the rest of his brothers are there for her and he knows that Butch does need help in rekindling his relationship with her. Meanwhile, Butch is still awfully guilt-ridden about the incident and starts to suspect that Brick is getting much closer to Buttercup than any friend should. Whilst Blossom is doubting Brick's fidelity towards her, as he starts to become Buttercup's tutor in physics, and she cannot stand the thought of her boyfriend cheating on her with her own sister. I'm not going to spoil the rest of the story, but how it builds up shows that there is almost a love square going on between Brick, Blossom, Butch, and Buttercup, more appropriately of how even though Butch and Buttercup broke up, she then ends up having her eyes on Brick, even though he is faithfully dating Blossom. Of course, there is also a fair amount of bickering and suspicions going on between the four main protagonists due to misunderstandings, and the pattern seems to build. At least I will give the climax and the ending some kudos for alleviating the ongoing melodrama and resolving the story with a happily ever after, especially for our main stars Butch and Buttercup as well as Brick and Blossom. There were also some instances where flashbacks were used and they were done in the right moments.

The character that really takes the cake here in this fanfic is Buttercup. Her impulsive nature is kept nicely intact as well as her tsundere edge, and I have to give kuku88 credit for keeping her characterization as it is. However, Buttercup in this fanfic also has the tendency to be manipulative, especially when it came to that break-up she had with Butch, as she tries to get her hands on Brick. Sure, it is not common for her to think about being lovey-dovey, but she always knew in her heart that Butch is not only her equal in terms of being counterparts but also someone she admires and adores so much because he is handsome, strong, and independent in his own way. In Butch's case, I really like his characterization here. He is usually written by other fanfic authors as violent, a pervert, or even a psycho, but I love the route kuku88 was able to take him. What we have is a misunderstood and flawed male protagonist whose actions are rash and ill-timed but he still has enough loyalty, humanity, and compassion to make things right with Buttercup. Even more so, Butch has this charm which makes him all the more appealing as a character that I actually enjoy his presence. With Brick, it should be no doubt that I love the platonic sensible older brother and impulsive younger sister relationship he has with Buttercup. Given that he is her closest friend in this story, he does his best to support Buttercup and completely understands the situation she and Butch are in. Because of his act of kindness to her, Buttercup uses Brick to find a better relationship with him even though he is Blossom's boyfriend. Blossom manages to keep her ladylike, articulate, endearing, yet uptight, highly-strung, and stern personality, as she is the only one not to say any swear words and even admonishes Buttercup, Butch, and Brick for swearing. She does have a little moment with Butch, even though I would've loved to have their platonic relationship expanded a little bit more. It is also a pleasure to see Dexter and Mandark in this fanfic, given that they along with Brick, Blossom, and Olga aka Lalavava, who is not seen in this fanfic, form a sort of genius school clique. For the record, it was also entertaining to see Buttercup interact with Brick's gang of geniuses and it was nice to see that Mandark did not end up either over-the-top or annoying. The other characters like Boomer, Bubbles, and Bunny and the original characters of Bandit, Blaster, Braker, Bliss, and Banana certainly contributed well and didn't just feel like background characters.

Although the layout was well-structured, there were some noticeable issues I had, like the word "gloved had" should have been "gloved hand". Additionally, there were a couple of moments where the italics were used slightly more than necessary. However, these issues did not detract from the overall reading enjoyment I had.

Overall, there was no doubt that this fanfic was melodramatic but at least the story did not drag and it was straight to the point. At times, it felt like I was reading a script to a teen soap opera, but I nonetheless enjoyed the interactions between Brick, Butch, Blossom, and Buttercup, as they were the absolute stars of the story. With that said, I give this fanfic a grade of A. I can forgive the melodrama and some slight technical errors, as this story was rich with lovable characters found not only in Brick, Butch, Blossom, and Buttercup, but also the likes of Dexter, Mandark, Boomer, Bubbles, and Bunny among many other characters in the story.

Well, that's all for now, be sure to tune in tomorrow for my review of Rossini's Semiramide live from the Met starring Angela Meade, Elizabeth DeShong, Javier Camarena, and Ildar Abdrazakov. Until then, goodnight everybody!
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9637996/1/Cheater-Cheater-Heartbreaker